Goodnight I'll Make Breakfast in the Morning
by hoozemy
Summary: A quiet evening together is something that both Percy and Annabeth very much enjoy. They would also probably agree that a nice breakfast together is a great way to start the day. AU Percabeth
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out my story.**

**Some important information - Percy and Annabeth are both older, in their twenties, and they are mortals. They've been dating for a number of months now. They arent living together, but Annabeth stays over at his place pretty often. There isn't much of a back story to this at all, but please don't let that scare you away. This is kind of a test run for me to see if people like my writing. The plan is to have this be a part of a bigger story rather than just a random one shot. **

They were lying in bed together, Annabeth was tucked into Percy's side – half on his chest half on the bed – their legs entwined as he absentmindedly played with a few of her blonde curls with his other arm curled under and around her, holding her close.

"Percy?"

"Mm?"

Annabeth leaned up, propping herself on his chest by her forearms and making sure not to dig her elbows into him – he'd complained about it once.

She brought her right hand up to the side of his face. He leaned into her hand and her thumb moved in a little arch on his cheek bone.

"What is it?" He blinked a few times trying to wake himself up more. Her silence got him more attentive.

Annabeth loved the expressions he made when he was worried or confused.

His face made her smile. Sometimes he was just so…_cute_. She wondered from time to time how such an attractive, hot and sexy _man_ could be so cute.

She moved her other hand up and tried to smooth over the crease that had formed between his brows. When his face relaxed a bit, as well as his shoulders, Annabeth moved her hand down to the side of his face. Her right thumb still rubbing his cheek as she held him.

She just stared at him. Taking in every detail about him that she could; the uneven bits of stubble that were just barely beginning to show, the angles on his face, shape of his nose, curve of his ears, absolutely messy hair, those wonderfully incredible eyes that she could honestly probably spend hours staring into.

She focused on those eyes, her soft smile growing wider.

"I love you."

Her voice was quiet but firm and very clear. Possibly the biggest smile she had ever seen spread across Percy's face.

His right hand – that had earlier been playing with her hair – moved to the back of her neck and pulled her close, sealing her lips to his. They were both smiling like idiots, making the initial moment of the kiss a bit difficult. It was a kiss just shy of bruising, certainly heated, and definitely filled with an incredible amount of passion. It was a kiss that held a very deep meaning.

After they settled down, they moved around to get comfortable again. Percy was flat on his back and had his right arm straight out and being used as Annabeth's pillow, with his left hand resting lazily over his stomach. Annabeth was tucked into his side again, using his arm and shoulder as her pillow.

Her boyfriend was asleep and even though she herself was very tired she couldn't fall asleep, her whole body was buzzing. She looked up at him; his head was tilted slightly toward her, his mouth just barely open and a thin line of…drool was falling onto his pillow. It almost made her laugh. He looked almost like a boy when he slept and again she wondered how this man could sometimes look so cute.

She didn't mind that he didn't say it back. It didn't make her love him any less. There it was – she loved him.

A smile tugged at her lips and Annabeth glanced at Percy's hand that lay on his stomach. She moved her right hand over and laced her fingers with his giving a light squeeze.

With one last look up at Percy, she noticed a faint smile that wasn't there before on his drooling face.

Annabeth let out a happy, contented sigh and snuggled further into Percy before closing her eyes.

* * *

Morning light was coming through the partially covered window streaming across the foot of the bed when Annabeth opened her eyes. Her arm was loosely draped over something along with part of her leg. Although that thing was missing a mop of black hair. Actually it was missing a lot of things that would make up her boyfriend. That would be because it was a pillow…

_Really, Percy?_

She had very recently told him that she was in love with him and he didn't have the decency to let her wake up in his arms… Annabeth let out a sigh.

_Stupid Seaweed Brain._

She was a little put out that he wasn't in bed with her, but she let it go. She sat up, ran a hand through her hair, stretched a little and then made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

She made her way to the stairs and stopped when she heard noises, then her nose kicked in. Food.

There was a small curious smile on her lips as she quietly walked down the stairs. When she got to the bottom the smile dropped immediately, her eyes going wide.

Over in the kitchen on the table there was a bouquet of roses and three sunflowers. Was there even a florist open right now? On the counter there was an open carton of eggs, a plate with a paper towel covering it and a few pieces of bacon on top, and a bowl with some sort of blue batter.

Then at the stove stood Percy. He had the handle of a pan in his left hand and tongs in the other. He wasn't wearing a shirt and he had on a grey pair of baggy sweat pants that hung deliciously low on his hips with the top of his black boxers poking out.

There was a loud pop and then a hiss followed by "_Ow! Fuck_." Percy scooted his lower half away from the stove, his arms still outstretched as he held the pan and tongs. He was mumbling to himself and set the tongs down angrily.

"…upid bacon." He grabbed his shirt from where it lay on top of the counter and shrugged it on.

Annabeth still stood at the foot of the stairs, hand over her mouth trying to silence her laughter. She didn't want to startle him and by chance make him splash himself with very hot bacon fat.

A few more moments and Percy took the bacon from the pan and move it over to the plate and mumbled something along the lines of "glad you're done", before switching pans. He cracked three eggs and scrambled them for just a few minutes before putting a flat pan on the stove.

He grabbed the bowl with blue batter before placing it back on the counter.

Percy snapped his fingers, "Chocolate." He said as he turned to the cabinet and shuffled around before finding the treasured bag and turning back to continue making breakfast. "Who doesn't like chocolate chip pan—"

He was a deer caught in head lights. Eyes wide and frozen in place, Percy stared at Annabeth. A hot blush rushing to his face.

"Good morning…? How long have you been standing there?" He squeaked out.

A sweet smile was spread across Annabeth's face, her arms loosely folded over her chest as she leaned against the wall beside the stairs, "For a little while. Good morning to you too, by the way."

She walked over to him as he still stood rooted in place and wrapped her arms around him. Trying with all her might to keep from laughing at his surprised and embarrassed face, she leaned up and kissed him just under his chin.

When Annabeth pulled away and grabbed a piece of bacon, Percy finally snapped out of it and started moving again.

"Hey, hey! No." Percy said as a playful reprimand, "Breakfast isn't ready yet." He snatched the bacon away before she could take a bite.

She gave him a pout.

"N-no." His voice not at all sounding firm, "Just a few more minutes, I'm almost done. All that's left are the pancakes."

He turned away from her – not able to look at her pouty face without probably breaking – and dumped some chocolate chips into the batter.

Annabeth grumbled out a "fine" and went over to sit at the table facing Percy as he worked at the stove. She grabbed one of the sunflowers and played with it, running her fingers around the petals.

After cooking, flipping and finally moving about eight pancakes to a large plate on the counter, Percy started to move all the food he had made to the table.

He sat down at the adjacent side of the table to Annabeth's left and looked at his creation with a proud smile.

"This is a lot of food, Perce."

He tilted his head as he looked over how much he had made.

"Well just grab however much you want, I'm pretty sure I can finish off whatever you don't eat." He said that sounding proud that he could eat a ton of food.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and shook her head with a small smile. Honestly, she was surprised that his body could still look _so good_ even when he ate _so much food_ - junk food most of the time.

She looked at the food and moved some eggs, three pieces of bacon and two pancakes to her plate. She couldn't help but stare at the pancakes.

They were blue.

She had been to his mother's house and yes, she's had many of Sally's blue cookies, she hadn't had blue pancakes yet.

Giving them another glance she decided for a third pancake. Once she was done, Percy moved the majority of the rest of the food to his plate, but left some off so that he had some room left on his plate.

"So what's with the breakfast? I mean – I'm not complaining. It's great and I thought it was really nice, it's just you've never done it before. Plus there're flowers." She pointed to the roses before looking back over at him.

"Oh! I forgot about those. They are for you." Percy told her with a smile.

Annabeth let out a soft chuckle, "Well I figured they were for me." She smiled at him.

Percy reached over and grabbed her left hand, running his thumb over her knuckles. He looked at her, with a completely serious expression, but he had a soft smile and his eyes were gentle.

The blonde straightened up - almost worried - and knit her brows together.

"I love you."

Her face relaxed. A raging blush covered her cheeks and she knew it. She was completely blindsided by that and with wide eyes all she could sputter out was "O-oh."

He was staring at her with such big, warm adoring eyes that she couldn't stop the smile or the tears that were forming.

Her heart was pounding in her chest.

Her breath was caught in her throat and she didn't think she could be quite so happy after just hearing three simple words.

Annabeth turned her hand over and laced her fingers with her boyfriend's. He gave it a squeeze and his smile grew.

"I didn't want to say it last night after you had told me."

"Wh—"

Percy blushed a light pink, "I didn't want my first time telling you that I love you to sound like a response." He looked away with a shy smile, "It would have been sincere if I told you last night, but I just…I don't know, I didn't want…I wanted it to be special." His head shot up and his eyes were wide, "Not that, when you told me, it wasn't special! Because it was. God it was great and I'll always remember it. My chest swelled and I just so _happy_. I didn't think I was going to be able to sleep but then with you just in my arms and stuff it just felt so right and comfortable, I was out like a light." He was rambling and his cheeks had darkened a few shades.

Annabeth stood up and moved over to Percy. She sat in his lap, grabbed his face and kissed him hard. In her mind it was definitely one of the best make-outs they had had up to that point.

She felt something warm on her cheeks. She thought she had her tears under control but apparently, with his words, there was just no helping it.

Quite a few minutes later they separated, but just barely. Percy had his right hand around his girlfriend's waist and just a little under her shirt, while his left hand was resting on her upper back between her shoulder blades.

Annabeth – being a little taller than Percy as she sat in his lap – leaned down and pressed her forehead against his with her eyes closed. A bright smile on her red lips.

"I love you." She said giving him a light kiss and then looked at him. "And I'm really hungry, so how about we enjoy this lovely breakfast that I have not forgotten about."

Percy nodded his head, a goofy smile on his face, and just then his stomach rumbled.

They stayed still and just watched the other for a few moments before both burst out laughing.

Annabeth moved back to her chair and after a few more laughs and giggles the two ate their breakfast of blue chocolate chip pancakes, eggs and bacon.

Throughout breakfast the two shared some shy glances with the other, and some lingering looks, along with a few more laughs when Percy missed his mouth because he was staring so intently at Annabeth and his syrup soaked piece of pancake smudged his cheek and fell into his lap; but the entire time the two of them never lost that happy smile.

**Thank you so much for reading my story! Really means a lot. I hope you liked it, it would be a huge help if you could tell me why. If you didn't like it, it would still be very helpful for me to know why you didn't so that I can improve my writing.**

**I want this to be part of an actual multi-chapter story, but your voice would really help me to move toward that!**

**Thanks again:]**

**Posted 5/12/14**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! So I'm glad to know some of you liked the first chapter. Thank you thank you for following and for the favorites and a massive high five to those of you who reviewed. **

**So being the first thing I've posted I don't really know what a normal view count is, but I thought the first chapter got a pretty good amount of views – made me happy. **

**I will be working on an actually story of what happened to lead up to this but I don't know how long that will take and I might just sporadically post a loosely connected chapter to this story/one-shot-collection-thing. I'll put a note or something on this story when I post the big story to let you all know but until then, here is another chapter for you!**

* * *

He wasn't in bed that morning, but she didn't get a pillow in his place today. The pillow placement had happened a few times in the last three weeks. Percy didn't normally wake up before her, but when he did, he would usually put his pillow in his place.

Annabeth loved the mornings that she got to wake up to see Percy still sleeping with her. She loved holding him when they slept, knowing that he was there with her. That was how they slept most nights, with her part way on top of him, one arm draped across him.

Her least favorite was when she was on her side, her back pressed to his front. It was really comfortable, and they actually fit better when they slept like that, but for some reason Annabeth wasn't a fan. She didn't like that she wasn't facing him, that she couldn't see him, that he wasn't in her arms. She felt like it was just too easy for him to slip away.

Most of the time Percy slept on his back, which was good because that meant Annabeth could snuggle up to him, but sometimes he would sleep on his side facing her. That was her favorite way to sleep. It took some time to get it to work though.

At first it was really uncomfortable. They didn't say anything to the other – it had been when Annabeth had first stated spending the night and they were both tiptoeing around it – but there was discrete maneuvering and slight squirming from the both of them to try and get comfy, it didn't work out too well. It took at least another three tries to finally figure out how to sleep comfortably facing each other, and Annabeth loved it.

She loved being held by Percy, and being able to hold him – it was her favorite way to sleep.

It was also one of her favorite ways to wake up.

She loved Percy's sleeping face and also his sleepy face. There's a difference.

When he sleeps, he looks younger and she can't help but think it's one of the cutest things.

She's also learned how to avoid his drool.

The faces he makes right as he is staring to wake up are priceless. They include nose wrinkling, lip twitching, brow furrowing and various other expressions as well.

He somehow manages to look disoriented most of the time when he first wakes up. He'll blink a number of times, look around and then his eyes will focus more, but his eyes seem to be a bit droopy in the morning and again, Annabeth finds it absolutely endearing.

The thing that doesn't happen very often – which she isn't quite sure why, but maybe that's also what makes it all the more special – is when Percy wakes up before her, after they had been sleeping facing each other, and she wakes up to see him watching her.

It's her absolute favorite.

She loves to wake up and the first thing she sees are his eyes. Okay well the first thing she sees is his covered, or not covered chest, and then his eyes – but that's just a technicality.

Again, he usually doesn't wake up before her, and if he does, sometimes he'll get out of bed. Other times they aren't sleeping holding each other – yes, she could turn over or he could move to his side, but something about the movement disrupts the whole serenity of when she first wakes up and sees him just watching her. It's just special.

That particular morning did not happen to be one of those days. Percy wasn't in bed.

She found him with his arms braced against the counter staring at the toaster very intently.

Annabeth walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, unfortunately – she thought – he was wearing a shirt.

He wasn't at all startled by her, he didn't know she was walking up behind him, he couldn't sense her or anything, but he knew her touch – it kind of made his insides melt – and there wasn't anyone else that could make him feel what _her_ touch makes him feel.

"You made a big breakfast again."

Percy partially turned towards her, one hand still holding his weight on the counter, and wrapped his other arm around her shoulders.

He kissed the side of her head, "I'm buttering you up."

Annabeth turned her head up to look at him as she smiled. "Oh, really? For what?"

He gave her a teasing smirk, "You'll find out later. After we eat."

"Fine."

Morning's breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, toast, yogurt, cottage cheese (only for Annabeth), and fruits.

Percy had mostly finished his food, but Annabeth was about half way done with hers when she brought it up again. He brushed it off at first, but when he was finished eating Annabeth asked him again what he was 'buttering her up' for.

He got straight to it.

"I wanted to ask you if you would move in with me."

It startled her a bit, she wasn't expecting it, but it made her stomach clench and her heart flutter in happiness, "Really?"

"Uh-huh." He had such a hopefully grin on his face.

Her happy smile faded a bit and all she got out was a short "Um."

His smile faltered, "What? What's wrong? Is it too soon?" There was a slight panic in his voice. Well, in him too.

Annabeth put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand as she gave out a small sigh, "I don't know. I've never moved in with anyone before. I don't know when it's a normal time to do it."

"I haven't asked anyone to move in with me either. I didn't really think about if it would be too soon or not. I just knew your lease was ending kind of soon."

She raised a brow with a slight smile, "You knew my lease was ending?"

He looked away, but she was sure she saw a blush on his cheeks, "Um…yeah."

Percy cleared his throat and turned back to his girlfriend, "Alright but listen, listen. So, as we said before, your lease is up soon, and let's face it, your apartment complex is really expensive and your place is kind of small anyway."

Annabeth felt the need to defend her apartment, yes what he said was true, but she liked the place, it was cozy, and it was hers. "Well, I'm the only one that lives there it doesn't need—"

"Wait, wait, let me finish." He said a bit rushed and almost sounded like he was whining.

It wasn't a rude interruption, so Annabeth brushed it off. She leaned back in her seat, "Fine, continue"

His eyes brightened. He knew this was his time to shine, his chance to lay out his thoughts to try and convince her to move in with him.

Annabeth was a practical woman; she liked having things thought out before she did something – not to say she couldn't be spontaneous, but she was a planner. "So it's small, expensive, and it's actually farther away from your work than my place." He paused for a moment, and Annabeth nodded, though he wasn't sure if it was in agreement or if it was a nod for him to continue.

He continued, "Next, you spend the night here at least four days of the week anyway, you have your own drawers and section of my closet, I mean – you practically _do_ live here. My place is big enough, we definitely have space, _and_ there's a spare room. I'm really glad I have that extra room - because let's face it, I'm bound to do something stupid – and when I get you mad, then I can go sleep in there and I won't have to spend the night on the couch."

She was quiet for a moment, trying very hard to keep a smile from creeping up on her face.

"You've thought about this quite a bit, haven't you, Mr. Jackson?"

"Yes, Ms. Chase, I've been thinking about it a lot lately."

"I'll think about it. I still have a little over a month to decide before I need to confirm if I'm going to be leasing my apartment again. I think it's a big step, but I will definitely be thinking about it, is that alright?" She bit her lip as she said it.

She didn't want him to feel put aside and rejected because that really wasn't what she was doing. She was nervous she would hurt his feeling by not jumping up and saying yes right away, but she was completely serious when she said she would think about it.

Everything Percy had said was true and Annabeth knew that, but she didn't want to rush to a decision because it was convenient. She wanted time to mull it over and then decide.

And then he smiled. It was one of his extra-happy smiles. He had taken her words to be a positive thing and Annabeth let out a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. That sounds good."

* * *

The two of them were cuddled on the couch later that day flipping through channels on the TV going from the _History Channel_ to _Animal Planet_ to the _Disney Channel_ to the movie channels where they settled on watching the second half of _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire._

Annabeth mumbled something about wishing and Percy only caught a little bit of the statement. He didn't think he was supposed to hear it at all but he asked about it anyway.

"Thalia?"

"Yeah. I miss her. I wish that she was here."

"Why?"

"Aside from the fact that I miss her, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth laughed softly, "She would help talk me through my decision."

"Piper?"

Annabeth chuckled softly and shook her head, "I love that girl to death, but Perce, she's a hopeless romantic at heart. She doesn't act like it most of the time, but her mother really has rubbed off on her. If it were up to Piper, I would probably be fully moved in by the end of the week. I would want an outside opinion; Thalia would give me that, she can be brutally honest sometimes."

Something was bothering him, but he couldn't quite place it,"Wait, what's her last name?"

"Grace?"

….

….

"_Holy_ _shit_!"

Percy almost jumped off his place on the couch and it absolutely startled his girlfriend, "What?"

"Oh my god. Holy fucking shit!"

Annabeth pushed on Percy's chest to lean back and look at him"What? Percy!"

"That's my cousin!"

Her arms slacked a bit, "Excuse me?"

Percy was nodding his head vigorously, "Thalia Grace! She's my cousin!"

"No way…"

"How have we not figured this out yet?!"

She was just as shocked as he was, "I-I don't know…"

He ran a hand through his hair, "I should have put it together. You talk about her all the time, but I just figured it was some other Thalia – even though it's not all that common of a name. You're the smart one in this relationship, how did you not figure it out?" Percy said with a gesture toward Annabeth.

She shook her head at him, still stunned by the revelation, "She never talks about her family and I respect that, so she's never mentioned you before. I guess that's not true, she's mentioned her cousins before and all the trouble you all used to cause when you were younger, but she didn't use names." She would bring up the fact the Percy may have almost called himself stupid a moment ago – because he wasn't – but now was not the time.

They sat in silence for a few solid minutes. It was actually really, very obvious that it was the same Thalia. Percy didn't really bring her up in conversation, only when he was telling stories about his childhood and that wasn't too often, so he understood why Annabeth wouldn't have thought that her boyfriend was somehow related to her best friend. But for him not to have realized sooner…

They had been dating for about eight months…and he hadn't figured out that his girlfriend's best friend was his cousin?! It was almost…sad? If it hadn't been so ironically funny, Percy probably would have been mad at himself. He should know who his girlfriend's best friend is. Especially if that girlfriend was potentially going to move in with him.

Percy rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes as he gave out a soft chuckle, "I still can't believe it. This is definitely a story to tell our kids someday."

"Kids?" That caught Annabeth's attention. She had been in a bit of a trance, still processing this discovery.

Percy's eyes shot open and he slowly sat back up and looked at Annabeth, "Um…er yeah."

The blonde tucked one of her legs under her and turned toward Percy with her head just slightly tilted, "You've thought about us and kids?"

He was pretty sure his cheeks were burning, "…yes?"

"How often?" She was definitely interested with this new finding.

"Um- uh…pretty often. Okay I think about it a lot." He mumbled the last bit quietly, but she still heard it

"How long?" There was a sweet smile on her lips. Annabeth really was interested in what he had to say on this matter, but that smile wasn't fully pure. She wasn't exactly teasing, but she was enjoying his embarrassment far too much for his liking.

"…about five months…"

Annabeth sat back, eyes a bit wide, "…five months? Percy, we would have only been dating for…like three months!"

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down for just a moment before looking back at Annabeth with a shy smile,"Well yeah, but I mean at first it was kind of just like 'Damn, we would have some beautiful kids' and then when we were around five months I started to realize I was feeling more for you than just liking you a lot and I started thinking more into it and about what they would look like and what their personalities would be. Then when I _knew_ I was really, actually truly in love with you I started thinking more about us with kids, rather than the kids themselves, and how it would be and how you would be pregnant, what you would look like with a swollen belly and what I would do to take care of you and stuff like that. I started thinking about a having a family with you and what you would be like as a mom. So, uh yeah. I've thought about it a lot…" There was major rambling going on, but Annabeth took in every word he said.

She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, a bright smile spread across her face and she was almost halfway in his lap, "…That was beautiful. I really do love you. So much." She nuzzled into his neck for a moment before finding his lips.

The kiss started out slow and sweet, but it very quickly turned into something a whole lot hotter. That kiss quickly escalated to one of Annabeth's top five make-outs.

* * *

**I don't know how happy I am with this, but I thought I'd put it up anyway.**

**Thank you all for reading. I hope you all liked it. Please please please review! They are incredibly motivating and helpful – something I didn't realize until I posted this. So for all of you who have stories of your own, I am going to try to review more on the things that I read. Thanks again and I hope you come back next chapter.**

**Posted 5/16/14**


	3. Chapter 3

"PERCY!"

Panic.

That's what he was feeling. He jolted out of bed, making himself a little dizzy in the process, and ran to the stairs.

His heart was pounding and his whole body was buzzing.

He just needed to find her.

He was in the hallway and still moving toward the stairs.

He could hear her running up the stairs.

Everything stopped when he saw her.

She stood there _smiling_.

She just screamed his name out like bloody murder and now she was standing at the top of the stairs _smiling_.

What. The. _Fuck_.

Whatever.

Percy took two more steps so he was right in front of her and threw his arms around her.

Annabeth stood in his arms stunned. She only saw his face for a second before he grabbed her, but from the quick glance that she got, he looked terrified.

Her smile was replaced with a confused expression.

She spoke with a soft voice, "Percy?"

He just held her tighter.

He was breathing heavily and she could actually feel his heart beating way too fast in his chest.

Annabeth only got halfway through speaking his name again before he interrupted her.

His lips were desperate and demanding and it startled her. She tried to pull away, needing to know what had happened, but he only pressed harder.

She relented and kissed him back and could feel Percy relaxing against her.

"Percy, _please_." She was thoroughly worried, "What's wrong?"

He pulled back, just barely, just enough so that he could look at her.

His eyes were glossy. He had _tears_ in his eyes and Annabeth was stunned.

"You – I…" His voice was strained, "Annabeth…" He sounded broken, and the blonde didn't like it – at all. "I thought you…God Annabeth. _You screamed my name_. I woke up to you screaming my name." He pulled her close to his chest again, trapping her arms between the two of them, and nuzzled into her curly hair. "You weren't in bed and you were screaming my name." His voice was so quiet and shaky; Annabeth was completely at a loss for words.

"I thought you were hurt. I thought something had happened to you. That you were being attacked or something."

Annabeth managed to wiggle her arms out from between them and she wrapped them around Percy. She shifted and pressed her forehead against his chest, "I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, "I'm so sorry, Percy. I didn't mean –"

He cut her off with a quick kiss and a small half-smile of relief, "It's fine. _You're_ fine." He pressed his forehead to hers, "Just don't do that again, okay?"

"Okay." Annabeth's voice was tight and she was on the verge of tears now too. His worry for her was touching.

"Unless you actually are getting attacked. Then feel free to do that again. I'll rescue you."

And she couldn't help the tiny laugh that bubbled up, though it sounded almost like a sigh and a sob, as well as a laugh.

Annabeth, still with her arms around Percy, pulled him back towards his room, completely forgetting her half eaten apple and brown sugar oatmeal.

* * *

They were laying bed, holding each other. What had happened fifteen minutes ago had blown over and they were just enjoying being in each other's silent company and soft touches when Annabeth mumbled out a slightly indignant, "I don't think I would need rescuing."

"Oh I know. Believe me Wise Girl, I know." He poked her side, "Date four I learned not to sneak up and scare Annabeth unless you want to get judo-flipped."

Her cheeks flushed and with a groan she buried her face in his chest, "Don't remind me. I was so embarrassed, Percy."

"You? I was the one flat on my back in the middle of Central Park."

"Yes me. There were a ton of people staring. They were probably thinking like, 'Did you see that? That crazy girl just threw that poor guy to the floor!'"

Percy let out a laugh, "I don't think so. It was probably more like, 'Damn, that dude just got his ass handed to him by that hot blonde chick!'"

They laid there for a moment before both started laughing.

Annabeth tried to contain herself, "Still, I was so embarrassed, and I felt so bad. I ruined the flowers you got me."

"I was mortified. I got judo-flipped by my girlfriend – very manly of me."

She couldn't help but giggle at his pouting face, "You're right. It was so manly. I think I also remember a…little squeak that came from you?"

He saw her smiling evilly, she tried to hide in by snuggling into his chest again, but he saw it.

He gasped, "You said you were going to erase that from your memory!"

She hummed at him and tapped her chin before looking back up at him with the most innocent face he thought she could give him, "Nope."

_How dare she!_

She continued with her false-innocence, "That noise was burned into my mind; I can still hear it from time to time."

That was it.

Percy rolled over and lay limply on top of his girlfriend.

"Percy!" She was laughing, which was probably a bad idea because he was a bit heavy and made it a little difficult to breathe.

"Take it back, Wise Girl!"

"No can do, Seaweed Brain." She said teasingly.

"Well, I asked nicely." Percy smile down at her with a sickly sweet smile.

"You didn't say ple-AH!"

Annabeth was screaming and laughing and squirming and probably crying too.

Percy was tickling her.

It was torturous.

He was halfway lying on her, so luckily his weight wasn't restricting her breathing but that didn't mean she could breathe properly. She really thought she might actually end up hyperventilating.

So much laughing.

Percy was getting a kick out of it too and couldn't hold back his own laughs.

Annabeth's face was so red and after many attempts to get him to stop tickling her – all of which he tried to bribe her to never bring up the squeak again, though she refused every time – she stopped laughing all together.

Percy would not be deterred from her silence and his fingers continued dancing across her sides.

That was until the sudden movement and then he was somehow flat on the bed on his stomach with Annabeth sitting on top of him holding him down.

She gave out a victory shout and took a number of deep breaths.

She heard him mumble something about cheating into the bed, "And laying on me while you tickle me isn't cheating? I will show no mercy." Was her response.

That was when she made her assault on him.

Unfortunately she wasn't having much luck. He wasn't ticklish.

Percy chuckled into the bed, "Not gonna happen, Wise Girl."

Annabeth didn't say anything and continued searching – everyone had at least _one_ weak point, one tickle spot that could bring someone to their knees.

"I've told you before, Wise Girl, I'm not ticklish. You're never going to fi—EEP!" Percy's body jerked.

That was the squeak!

They stayed completely still and silent.

"Oh my god…" Annabeth said quietly.

"Oh my god! I found it!" She bounced on him a little, "I found your spot! And god, Perce! That was the squeak!"

"Annabeth…" Percy said slowly and nervously.

She gave him an evil laugh, "What was that about not finding it, Seaweed Brain?" She said cockily.

"Wait…Annabeth, let's talk about this."

"No mercy." She set her hips firm and pressed with one hand against his shoulder, keeping him in place and readied her free hand above the small of his back.

"Wait, no, don't do thi—WAH!"

Annabeth was greatly enjoying tickling her boyfriend. That was until he managed to turn on his side - mid buck - and throw Annabeth off of him.

Off of him _and_ the bed.

"Woah!" Thud. Groan.

"Shit." Percy scrambled to the side of the bed and leaned over to look at his girlfriend. "You okay?"

Annabeth was flat on her back, her hair fanned out behind her, with one leg partially on the bed. She looked a bit dazed and nodded her head.

Bad move.

She shut her eyes and groaned. Her head was spinning.

Percy slipped off the bed and sat next to her, "Sorry."

"No it's fine. More my fault than yours." Annabeth opened her eyes and gave Percy a soft smile, "Help me sit up?"

He scooted behind her and sat her up slowly and let her lean back against him. He kissed her shoulder.

"Still sorry."

Annabeth twisted back and kissed his cheek, "Okay."

* * *

It was later that day when they were at the grocery store buying food to replenish the fridge and pantry as well as a few things for dinner that the morning was brought up.

Percy was pushing the cart, following Annabeth around as she went through the aisles and grabbed different things off the shelves.

"So this morning."

"Yeah?" Annabeth looked over at Percy after putting a loaf of bread in the cart.

"What had you all worked up that you yelled for me?"

Her eyes went wide and a big smile spread across her face, "I totally forgot."

Percy gasped in mock horror, "_Annabeth forgot_ something?"

She shoved his arm with a smile, "Anyway, when I was having breakfast I checked my email and I had one from Thalia and she said she's moving back home next week. I was really excited. That's kind of why I yelled." A light blush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks.

The smile turned into a look of annoyance, "But the nerve of her. She's coming back in a week! She couldn't have given me more of a heads up?"

"You need time to prepare or something?"

"Well, she needs a place to stay until she finds an apartment or something."

They were at the deli now.

"And about that. I was thinking." She turned to the man behind the counter, "Hi, could I get half a pound of the peppered turkey, a quarter pound of roast beef, honey ham, salami, and provolone please?"

"Those three words coming from a woman could be the death of any man…'I've been thinking.'"

He got a laugh from her.

"Yes, I was thinking," She started with a bit of sass, "I could let Thalia have my apartment. She would get here about a week before I need to confirm and make a payment to renew the lease on the place. It wouldn't give her much time to look at other places and then decide if she wanted mine, but it could work." Then more shyly she added, "And then I could move in with you?" Annabeth moved the wrapped and tagged meats to the child's seat of the cart.

She avoided looking at him, suddenly feeling shy. If she had looked at him, she would have seen his smile.

She hadn't officially decided if she as going to move in with him, but the last two weeks she had hardly even been to her apartment.

Percy lightly draped an arm around the blonde's shoulders and kissed the side of her head.

"You're so cute."

The blush darkened a few shades.

"It sounds like a good plan to me. Have you told her yet?"

Off to the dairy section.

"No, I wanted to talk to you about it and since I forgot, I didn't have a chance to send her an email back."

"Well, now you can shoot her an email and see what she thinks about it."

"That easy?"

"Well yeah." Percy grabbed a gallon of milk, laughing softly, "Annabeth, I asked you to move in with me. I wouldn't have done that if I only kind of wanted you to be there."

She let out a "hm" and grabbed a large container of vanilla yogurt and vanilla greek yogurt.

"Alright." Annabeth put them in the cart, "But I don't think I'm going to tell her that I'm not planning on being there. I'm thinking I'll just invite her to 'stay with me' until she finds her own place."

"Why?"

"Because Seaweed Brain," There was a whole lot of sass in those words, and then she turned to face him with a wicked smile, "Don't you want to see her reaction in person when she finds out that her best friend is dating her cousin?"

Oh.

_Damn_.

He always found smart-Annabeth to be hot – it was kind of a turn on – but smart-_evil_-Annabeth? Percy thought devious Annabeth was _really_ hot, and he was silently cursing that they were in the grocery store.

Percy donned a sly smile of his own and wrapped an arm around Annabeth's waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I like your thinking, Chase."

Still with that same smile, Annabeth hummed and looked up at Percy, "Well, that's a good thing." She said before leaning up and kissing him.

* * *

Percy started putting away all groceries while Annabeth went off to go send Thalia an email. He left out the mint chip ice cream and when he was finished, grabbed a spoon, and headed to the couch with his carton of ice cream.

He sank into the cushions, set his ice cream between his legs, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He was flipping through channels before settling on a marathon of _House_ when Annabeth came back in one of his shirts. The shirt was long enough that Percy couldn't tell that she was wearing night shorts under it.

She sat down on the couch and slid over into Percy's open and waiting arm.

"You know, Wise Girl," He took a spoon full of ice cream, "I think you wear more of my clothes than I do."

She leaned back a little to look up at him, "What?"

"Yeah, I mean, you always wear my shirts and you wear my boxers like shorts all the time." He looked down at her and noticed her blush, "Not a bad thing, just an observation."

Annabeth turned back to the TV with a pout, "They're comfy."

"You have comfy clothes too. I know you do."

"You have more things here than i do."

"Uh-huh. That's the reason."

She dug her elbow into his side, "Shut up and give me the spoon."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Between the two of them - though mostly Percy - they were already more than a third done with the ice cream. At the beginning of the fourth episode they were watching, Annabeth got up.

"It's kind of late, but what do you want for dinner?"

"Nothing."

That was a shocker. Annabeth turned back around to look at him, his attention on the TV, "You're not hungry?"

"I'm having ice cream."

She sighed, "Percy, you're not having ice cream for dinner."

He twisted and looked back at Annabeth, his brow furrowed, "Why not?"

Another sigh, "Fine. But when your stomach hurts and you can't sleep tonight, don't wake me up."

Annabeth wasn't all too hungry so she settle for some toast and a pear. Her phone was on the counter charging and she saw a light blinking on it. Pear in hand, she went over to check it. There were a few new emails, but she only opened one of them - the one from Thalia - the others could wait until tomorrow.

A few minutes later she went back over toward Percy where he continued to happily eat his ice cream. She stood behind the couch and tapped his head. Percy leaned his head back against the couch to look up at her with a smile. Annabeth ran her hands through his hair and his eyes shut contently. She gave him a soft kiss and then continued to play with his hair.

"So the plan is going to need some tinkering."

"Hm? What happened?" Percy still had his eyes closed, but he was listening.

"Thalia does need a place to stay, but she needs somewhere big enough for her _and_ Jason."

He opened one eye and Annabeth could tell he was giving her a blank look.

"Jason Grace. Your cousin. Thalia's younger brother."

"Oh."

"It's part of the reason why she's moving back. He's moving here from California."

Percy gave another, "Oh."

"So my one bedroom apartment isn't going to work out." Annabeth shut her eyes softly and gave out a small sigh, "So bye-bye apartment, no one wants you."

Percy chuckled and opened his eyes fully, they shared a smile, "I told her I would help look for a place for them to stay so they wouldn't have to pay for a hotel until they got an apartment."

"Maybe Jason could stay with Leo. He can get along with just about anyone."

"Piper's staying with Leo."

"Why?"

"Something about being lonely with Silena gone on a trip or something."

Percy laughed, "Pipes is going to have to get used to being lonely then, Beckendorf wanted her to move in with him soon."

Annabeth laugh softly and nodded, "Actually, Jason staying with Leo would probably work out. Silena should be back in a few days so Piper would probably go back to their place, leaving Leo with an open room."

She leaned down and gave Percy another kiss, "We'll figure something out before they get here. I'm going to get ready for bed. I probably won't go to sleep just yet, might sketch or read for a bit. Do you think you'll be coming to bed soon?"

Percy looked over at the clock, it was just barely ten and he wasn't tired at all. Tomorrow would be Sunday, so they didn't need to get up for work.

"Probably not. Don't wait up."

"Okay." She ruffled his hair and made her way to the stairs.

She only got about half way there when Percy called to her with a "Hey! Annabeth!".

He waited until she turned back around. "I love you." He said with a goofy smile.

Annabeth returned his smile with a bright one of her own. She walked back over to him - on his side of the couch this time - and gave him a nice long kiss before repeating the words back to him and heading off upstairs.

* * *

**Thank you for the follows, favorites and reviews! Hugs, high fives, and cookies to all of you (::)**

**I really really really should have been studying for my finals tomorrow, but I wrote this… I hope you like it, as always I ask you to review (please), and I have a question – so I've written three chapters for this and I have ideas for what I want to do in future chapters, but I did say that I would work on writing what happened before and how they got together and all that jazz. I don't know how successful I would be if I tried to do both of them ('prequel' and this story) at the same time. So I was hoping to get your opinion on whether or not I should just keep doing this or if I should pause and get some things written for the before stuff. I could possibly do alternative updates or something, but I've never done it before so I'm not sure how well it'll work out.**

**So if you could help me out and voice your opinion on the matter it would be majorly appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Posted 5/18/14**


	4. Chapter 4

**Congratulations to all who have finished their finals and are starting summer! I just got back from Cabo with some family and it was great! I highly recommend it as a trip. The water guys! It was gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. There is this one particular shade of the water that is kind of shallow-ish that I think is my new favorite color. I could seriously gush about how beautiful the water was and everything else but I'll move to what you clicked for.**

**Onward with the story!**

* * *

Have you ever had that morning where everything in the world is telling you to get up out of bed, but you just _really_ don't want to?

Percy was having one of those days.

He was being shaken lightly, but he completely ignored it. He could also swear he could hear something, but he didn't pay it any mind.

"Come on Perce, you need to get up." No reaction.

There was a pressure on his lips and even in his tired stupor he very quickly found that he liked it. Lazily, Percy moved his lips in time with the soft pair pressed to his. A few moments later his eyes fluttered open and then the pressure was gone.

There was a blonde sitting beside him with a triumphant.

Percy shut his eyes, turned over, put his face into his pillow and groaned.

That tease!

Annabeth sighed; he had to choose today to be difficult in the morning. She moved her hand up her boyfriend's back all the way until her fingers were playing with the hair at the back of his head.

"Percy, you need to get up and get ready. We need to leave in less than forty minutes to go pick up the truck.

The last few days the two of them had been packing up the majority of Annabeth's apartment. After work they would meet at her place and organize what would be sold, donated, put in storage, or moved to Percy's.

Today, however, they were actually moving her out.

They were supposed to go pick up the moving truck at nine-thirty so they could begin to actually move Annabeth to Percy's apartment.

"Please?" Percy turned his head slightly to peak up at Annabeth, "I really need you to get out of bed and have something to eat so that we can get started with all of this."

The bed shifted as Annabeth moved and lay down on her side facing Percy. Her hand was still playing with his hair, "Nico said that he would meet us at my apartment at ten-fifteen, so we need to get a move on things."

It was Thursday and Annabeth and Percy had both taken the day off of work so that they could get her moved in. It would give them a few days to situate themselves in Percy's apartment – soon to be _their_ apartment – before Thalia and Jason got to New York. The tentative plan was that Jason would stay with Leo and Thalia would stay with Percy and Annabeth in the spare room until the Grace siblings found a more permanent residence.

Unfortunately, because it was Thursday, most everyone was busy working and was unable to help them with the move. Nico, on the other hand, had apparently managed to schedule his classes for the semester to have classes Monday through Wednesday and only one class on Thursday which was in the evening.

Annabeth kissed Percy's nose, "Not only that. I'm really excited about this and I would really appreciate if you would get up so that we could get this day started, together."

Percy looked her over. She had a green t-shirt on and denim shorts with her hair pulled back. She was already ready for the day and he had yet to even really wake up.

It really was time for him to get up and stop being lazy. Sure, they had a long day ahead of them, but it would definitely be worth it.

Percy pushed the blankets off of him and shuffled himself so that he was lying on top of Annabeth. He nuzzled her neck and trailed lazy kisses up and down her exposed skin.

He smiled into her neck when he heard her soft giggles before pushing himself up and off the bed.

"Okay." He said with a final kiss to her cheek.

Annabeth was left lying on the bed and watching as he disappeared into the bathroom. After a few more moment she got up, shook her head with a smile, and made her way downstairs to get some kind of breakfast ready for Percy.

He met her in the kitchen just a few minutes later and gave her a quick kiss as payment for the bowl of cereal she handed to him.

"My teeth are clean," He flashed her a big smile, "and my breath is nice." He gave Annabeth a more lingering kiss before heading to the table.

The blonde let out a soft laugh, "That why you avoided my lips earlier? Morning breath?"

"Yep." Percy said with a mouth full of cereal.

Another laugh. "Well, thank you for your consideration."

"You are very welcome."

"Because you do have terrible breath in the morning." Annabeth made herself busy at the sink so that Percy couldn't see the smirk on her face.

There was a scraping noise as – what Annabeth guessed – Percy turned around in his chair too quickly and moved it back a bit, as well as his spoon clattering against his bowl as he let out a whiny, "Hey!"

Annabeth couldn't help it anymore and turned back to him and laughed at his pouting face. She walked over to him, ruffled his hair and sat in his lap with her arms his neck, "Don't worry Seaweed Brain, bad breath and all, I still love you."

She gave him a kiss and then stood up, "Eat your food so we can finish getting ready and then go pick up the moving truck."

Annabeth headed up stairs but she was pretty sure that Percy grumbled something along the lines of, "Yes, mother…"

* * *

After they got the truck and went over to Annabeth's apartment, Nico showed up about twenty minutes later. They didn't hire professional movers, because they wanted to save the money, but now they were regretting it.

It was still morning but it happened to be a rather warm day. The worst part of it though, was that Annabeth's apartment was on the fifth floor.

Her apartment was fully furnished and she had a lot of big things that they were moving down into the truck. After many rounds of going up and down the stairs with boxes of kitchen utensils, clothes, and various other small things the three of them started using the elevator.

Even with the elevator, it was a lot of work moving all of her things. She had a queen sized bed, two big couches and a love seat, a pretty large dresser – and even without all of her clothes in it, the thing was still heavy – a night stand, a coffee table, an another table for her TV.

It surprised Percy at how much work it was to move someone. Especially when the place was small, but apparently Annabeth knew how to arrange everything to maximize the space she was given.

All three of them were very sweaty by the time they were finished and Nico was silently regretting volunteering to help move Annabeth.

When they were pretty much done, Annabeth was having a hard time. She had been attached to her little apartment.

Percy, on the other hand, was dreading the fact that they had to unload all of the things they just packed up into the truck. Though, thankfully Annabeth was there to direct Percy and Nico on how to pack the moving truck. If it were up to the boys, they probably would have just grabbed the closest things to them and shoved it into the truck. Annabeth made sure that they packed the truck so that the first things they put in and would go to the back were the things going to Percy's apartment, then storage, and then nearest the big door at the back would be the things they would donate.

With some sweet and comforting words, Percy managed to get Annabeth out of the now empty apartment and into the passenger seat of the moving truck. They would stop at GoodWill and then go to the storage place nearest Percy's apartment before heading there to move her in.

* * *

Nico said he would meet them at the apartment and that he was getting something to eat from McDonalds.

Sally had offered to help them move Annabeth into the apartment and help them organized. They had originally told her that they would be fine and that she didn't need to worry about it. That was until she said she would bring some cookies.

Once they finally made it to Percy's apartment with an emptier moving truck, they pulled it into the loading area connected to the garage. Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand before they stepped out of the truck and gave it a squeeze.

"You're moving in." He said with a small smile.

She couldn't help but smile right back at him, "Yeah." She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss, "We're ready. I'm excited."

"Me too."

They met Nico in front of the apartment door, each of them holding a box and Nico eating some of his food out of the paper bag.

"Hey, Nico." Percy shifted the box toward his cousin, "could you grab this real quick. I need to grab my keys."

After they made it inside, Nico sat at the table and finished his food, Percy called his mom to let her know they were at the apartment and she could come over whenever, and Annabeth took the box she was carrying up to the bedroom.

They had labeled the boxes so it wasn't too difficult to figure out where to put them.

Sally arrived shortly after she got the call, and Annabeth stopped making trips down to the truck to bring boxes up to the apartment. While Percy and Nico continued to bring items to the apartment, Annabeth and Sally started unpacking and organizing.

The only big item that they guys were bringing up was the loveseat from Annabeth's apartment. Percy and Annabeth thought it would go well in the living room and they decided to bring it over. Other than clothes, most of the other things they brought over were much smaller such as kitchen utensils that Percy didn't have, or a lamp that Annabeth liked.

They decided they would need to get another dresser, but Annabeth's previous one was rather bulky and they thought it would be better to buy a smaller one.

* * *

By the end of the day, mostly everything was newly in place and they could all see that Annabeth was excited. Only Percy noticed the hint of underlying sadness.

He walked behind her and rubbed her arms up and down, "Hey."

She looked over her shoulder to him and smiled. It faltered when he didn't smile back. She knew he caught on, and she knew what his question was.

"What's wrong?"

Annabeth turned around to face him and with a smaller, more genuine smile she shook her head lightly, "Nothing's wrong –"

But Percy wasn't letting it drop so quickly.

"Talk to me, Wise Girl." His voice was soft, "You're sad." His eyes were so warm and full of concern.

She shook her head, "But I'm _so happy_." She stepped a little closer to him, placed her left hand on his waist and slid her right up his chest, "You make me so happy, Percy." Annabeth moved closer to him again, fitting herself just under his chin and his arms easily found their way around her shoulders and waist. "_So incredibly happy_."

He held her like that for a moment, just soaking it all in, because he was happy. Elated. This incredible woman that he held in his arms was living with him now. _Voluntarily_ living with him. It was a big deal.

He shifted a little so he could look down at her, though he only saw the top of her head, "But –"

Annabeth looked up at him and he noticed where she had been looking. To his right stood Nico, Sally and Paul who had arrived not too long ago, even though they were mostly finished with everything. The three of them were talking and whatever it was, was probably about Nico because the poor guy had a raging blush.

"Tonight. I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

He nodded and felt a tug at his waist; Annabeth was pulling him towards his family.

They made their way over to the other three, only catching part of the conversation.

"…was nine he would always –"

"Hey mom, I think we are done." A still red faced Nico gave Percy the most grateful glance he could have mustered.

"Oh, are you sure?" Sally turned to look at her son with an especially warm look in her eyes.

"Yeah. Everything is already put away and where we think we want it. We probably won't be moving anything for a few days to test it out, and if we do move something I could probably do it myself."

Sally looked around briefly was a small, soft smile and nodded.

"Do you guys want to come over for dinner? I'm sure you three are tired, probably don't want to cook." Paul offered.

Percy looked at Annabeth to see what she wanted to do, who shrugged her shoulders, before looking back to Paul and his mother.

"I think we are just going to stay in tonight. Probably have some left overs or something."

Annabeth looked a little relieved that he hadn't accepted. Not that she wouldn't have enjoyed going to their place for dinner, but she was dead tired and wanted to eat, shower and then get to bed as soon as possible, and there was no such thing as a quick visit to Sally's place.

Paul looked over, "Nico?"

He shook his head, "I need to head back and shower before my class at seven-thirty."

Paul grabbed his wife's hand, "Well then, we should get going, leave you guys to the rest of your night."

Annabeth stepped forward to hug Sally while Paul and Percy shared a handshake.

"Thank you so much for coming by and helping us today."

The older woman gave the blonde a quick extra squeeze, "Any time, Annabeth. Paul and I aren't far from here, if there is anything you ever need, feel free to give us a call."

She nodded and thanked the woman again before saying goodbye and moving over to give Paul a hug. She noticed Sally talking to her son in a somewhat hushed tone and the soft blush that dusted his cheeks.

Annabeth caught the tail-end of what she had said.

"…good to her. I love you, Percy, and am so proud of you." Sally brought her hand up and touched her son's cheek, looking like she was on the verge of crying.

Annabeth felt like she was intruding on their moment, but she couldn't bring herself to look away.

"I will, I promise." He hugged her then, "I know, mom, and I love you. Thank you for everything."

Sally was trying with all her might to keep it together. Her boy was growing up. He was grown up.

She had a difficult time taking him to school for the first time. Then each year to the next grade after that. They were always there for each other and worked through all their struggles together. She could barely handle him moving into the dorms when he was in college. It was harder when he moved into an apartment during his college years. Even worse when he moved into his current apartment and had a good paying job. But now he was twenty-four, living with his girlfriend and both with decent jobs.

Before, his 'home base' had always been Sally's home, now it wasn't. Now it was the apartment she was standing in, and she was having a hard time accepting that her little boy had grown up right before her eyes.

Percy kissed her cheek, "Give me a call or text or something when you guys get home, so I know you got there safely, okay?"

Sally nodded, fearing that if she tried to speak, the tears would start flowing.

Paul stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her, and gave her a small comforting smile. He slowly tried to usher her out of the apartment, and with a final goodbye the two of them left.

Nico had gone off to the kitchen to grab some water and his keys from the counter. He had just come back and was getting ready to head out.

Annabeth gave him a hug and a thank you, while Percy settled with a handshake and shoulder pat.

"Hey, seriously, Nico, thanks for coming and helping us. We really appreciate it."

Nico nodded, "Any time." He barely took one step away before turning around again, "Just don't move again anytime soon."

They shared a soft laugh.

"Yeah, don't think we will for a while. But, hey, next time we all go out somewhere, I'm buying your food – maybe the next couple of times."

There was a ghost of a smile on Nico's face before he made his way to the door, "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

Annabeth came out of the bathroom in one of Percy's shirts and with damp hair.

She joined her boyfriend in bed where he lay on his back in nothing but his boxers.

As soon as she was tucked into his side, her eyes closed. She wasn't asleep, but she just couldn't keep her eyes open. It was just after nine-thirty, but they were both already very ready for bed.

"So, what was up with earlier?"

Annabeth let out a sigh, "I was kind of hoping you wouldn't remember about that."

"You don't want to tell me?"

"No, it's not that. I don't want to lie to you or keep things from you, it's just that it was really stupid."

"Okay." He said gently, hoping to prompt her to continue.

She still had her eyes closed and she snuggled a little more into Percy's side, "I just…Look, I know I'm getting a much better deal – I mean I get to live in a bigger apartment and it comes with you." She kissed the side of his chest, "I was just kind of…proud of my place? I'm not really sure how to put it. It was mine and it was special. Until I got it, I always felt like I was some kind of thing just weighing people down. In college I had scholarships and my parents helping pay for it. Whenever my dad sent money, that's all it was, it was just a check. No letter or note asking about school, nothing wishing me well or whatever. To me it seemed like it was just something that he felt he had to do, not something he wanted."

She paused and let out a small sigh again, "When I moved into my first apartment, Thalia was my roommate. Thalia's never made me feel unwanted, ever, and I am so thankful to have her, but when we moved in together she was there paying half for rent and sometimes picking up my part of the utilities bill when I couldn't pay for it. She did it because she wanted to, not just because we needed it, but I still felt like I was just some thorn in someone's side."

Percy's arm closed around her as if trying to reassure her that she was most definitely _not_ a 'thorn in someone's side'.

"When Thalia started traveling I got my apartment, and that felt…_good_. It was _mine_. It was only my name on the lease and I felt kind of free…There was nothing to make me feel like I was holding someone back. It really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and that's why I was hesitant to tell you. It's kind of dumb." Annabeth shook her head, "I am happy though. Honestly. I was just a little reluctant to let go of my place."

Percy rolled on his side and brought the blonde closer to his chest, kissing her head before tucking her beneath his chin, "I don't think that's a dumb reason. That was your home and you liked it there and I'm glad you told me." He could feel her nod against his chest, "Will you tell me if something happens to make you feel like that again?"

She didn't move.

"Please?" Still nothing, "I want you to feel comfortable in this apartment. It's our home now, and I want you to feel some kind of connection to it like you did your last apartment. I also really don't want you to ever feel like you are holding someone down or something, because you don't. I don't know how you don't see it, but you bring people up, you push people to be better. You're incredible, Annabeth, and it would be _wrong_ to sell yourself short."

He didn't know it but there were tears forming in his girlfriend's eyes.

"So, please, if ever you feel down or like you are bringing someone else down, please tell me." Percy spoke softly and almost pleadingly.

Annabeth gave him a small but immediate nod.

He gave her a squeeze and a quiet thank you.

"Thank you, Percy." Her voice was small and shaky.

"Hm?"

She nuzzled into him, "Just…for everything." She gave a small weak laugh, "For getting coffee ready for me when you wake up early. For all the random, weird little things you do for me. For holding me close like this, I don't know, just for everything. For making me feel so loved."

He smiled and kissed her head again, "Well, you're welcome. It's part of the job and I enjoy doing it all. I'm glad you feel it, Annabeth, because I do. I really do love you. And I want to make you laugh and be happy and feel loved for as long as I can. Doing that for you makes me happier than I thought possible."

They were both smiling, and those tears in Annabeth's eyes just would not go away.

Annabeth pulled back a little – Percy wouldn't let her move very much – and looked at him, though it was dark and she wasn't sure when the light got turned off.

"Do I make you feel like that?"

"Hm?"

"Loved. Do I make you laugh and happy and feel loved?"

"Of course."

She moved back to settle against him, "Good."

They moved around a little bit more, shared a few kisses, exchanged 'I love you's, and both very contently – and both very tired after their long day – went to sleep not thinking that they were going to have to get up for work tomorrow.

* * *

**Again – many thanks for reading. And those reviews! They seriously make me so happy. A super thank you to those of you who have repeatedly reviewed, it really means a lot.**

**Is it just me, or does anyone else imagine Thalia to be the most vulgar out of all of them?**

**I'm also sorry if this just got too sappy for anyone. I started getting cute and sappy and then I just couldn't stop…**

**So I have another question for you. And thank you for those of you who reviewed and gave your input on the matter, I'm still thinking about what I'm going to do. Do you guys want this to turn into a real story with an actual plot and some drama and stuff thrown in (along with plenty of fluff, like these chapters) or is it fine how it is with kind-of-big events with time skips in between chapters.**

**I definitely have ideas of what I want to write, but I don't have anything prewritten so your voice on the matter would be really helpful and could actually change how this story turns out. I'm writing this for you guys, so I want you to be happy with it.**

**I apologize if these author's notes are kind of long, but thank you for taking the time to read this.**

**Review review! The box thing is so close and they make me smile**

**Posted 5/30/14**


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